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Exotic birds enliven Anna Maria beach shop

Don Ferguson of Akron, Ohio, visits with Maxwell, a military macaw that is one of the favorite birds in the avian display at Sun and Surf in Holmes Beach. Maxwell is the property of store owners Marty and Heather Duytschaver.

Published: Sunday, June 8, 2014 at 4:35 p.m.

Last Modified: Sunday, June 8, 2014 at 4:35 p.m.

Facts

PHOTO GALLERY

Fewer tourists are driving the roads and patronizing the shops and restaurants of this beach town, which might be fine with the locals, but it is duly noted by the merchants.

They will use their wintertime profits to tide them over during the slower months.

On the sidewalk in front of Sun and Surf, a resort clothing and gift shop, a special group of Holmes Beach residents certainly has less company.

They are the African gray parrots, macaws and other exotic birds sheltered and shown by store owners Marty and Heather Duytschaver in 12 cages outside the front door.

“Piglet,” “Yosemite Sam,” “Emerald,” “Bullwinkle,” “Congo” and friends — 17 birds in all — have become celebrities at the Island Shopping Center.

“We are 'the store with the birds,' ” said Marty Duytschaver.

It's a nickname that attracts both shoppers and bird lovers.

Marty Duytschaver once owned a commercial aviary. After he sold it, he brought two of his own birds to the store rather than leave them home all day.

“These birds have issues if you leave them alone,” he said. “They start pulling their feathers out.”

When Duytschaver started dating Heather, they developed a strong common interest — exotic birds. Heather already had dozens of the creatures at her Bradenton home.

“We joined the West Coast Aviary Society and started to breed birds. We did it because it was something we could do together,” Heather Duytschaver said.

“Between raising teenagers, running a business and breeding birds, at one time we had 24 baby birds in the back — and you are trying to wait on people.

“Nobody wanted the teenagers,” she said. “So we had to keep the teenagers and get rid of the aviary.”

Heather has three children, Marty two.

About 10 years ago, the Duytschavers started taking in birds whose owners were forced by age or illness to give them up. Or, the owners may have lost their homes to foreclosure and had to move to apartments where the birds were not allowed.

Former bird owners like Sun and Surf because the store is a refuge where they can still visit their feathered friends.

The birds do not seem to mind the new surroundings.

“Big birds, it is hard for them to deal with change,” said Marty. “But when they come here, it's like going to Disney World. They have the other birds, and they have people talking to them all day long. We have never had a problem.”

The birds do remember their owners, though, calling them by name months or even years after last seeing them, Marty Duytschaver said.

Keeping a bird is not easy. They need the company of humans or other birds. A bored bird can develop mental problems.

Parrots, macaws and other such animals can live 70 or 80 years. That can be an issue for newly retired seniors who think a bird is a good choice for a pet in a small retirement residence.

“We have people pass away who have had the bird for 20 or 30 years. Some people move down, just retired, and they go buy a parrot that is going to live until it is 80. People don't think ahead,” Duytschaver said.

The Duytschavers will adopt birds to “the right people,” and will even give away the birds' toys and a couple weeks' supply of food.

Not that the toys will last long. Macaws can shred them quickly with their mighty beaks.

But Heather Duytschaver tries to talk people out of adopting.

“She tells them every bad thing that could happen,” said her husband. “If they keep coming back, you know” they will be good guardians.

She also qualifies the applicants by asking the right questions.

“I've bred birds to tell you that you don't want them,” Heather Duytschaver said. “That is not being mean. But people are on vacation — the sun, the Jimmy Buffett songs, the margaritas — and then they see my birds, which are pretty friendly.”

Some decide to take the “parrothead” label, attached to Buffett's fans, literally.

“I try to explain to people, the birds can't get attached to anyone, per se, because there is so much activity out here on the sidewalk. They are always interacting with people,” she said. “They are a lot of work, and when I tell people what it takes, I really hope they don't want one. It is a commitment.”

Each bird has a distinct personality. Some of the birds are relatively quiet, some are gentle, and others will squawk loudly if they sense they are not getting enough attention.

After his turn in front of a photographer's camera, “Congo,” a colorful macaw, returned to his cage and promptly hung upside down.

“He is nuts,” Marty Duytschaver said.

Nearby, Don Ferguson, of Dayton, Ohio, interacted with a military macaw named “Maxwell.”

“We visit once a year, staying on Longboat,” said Jan Ferguson, Don's wife. “He came up here for a haircut and we heard them.

“We have wild parakeets outside where we are staying,” she said. “They are the most raucous birds you would ever want to hear.

“The birds down here are more interesting than the fish. I like to eat the fish, watch the birds.”

The Duytschavers are certified and licensed to keep and display the birds.

Their avian display is something like a zoo, but not quite. No admission is charged, for starters.

They bring the birds inside the store at night, aligning their cages in the center aisle. The process takes 30 minutes each way.

The shopping center management has no problem with the avian display, the Duytschavers said. It attracts attention, and shoppers with money in their pockets.

“It is real good for the store,” said Marty, who scoffs at critics who think the Duytschavers are keeping the birds only as a marketing tool. It is too much work and expense to be anything than a labor of love, he said.

But he added that the business has benefited. “We canceled our entire advertising budget in favor of boarding the birds. It has turned into an attraction,” he said.

“We have people, the first thing they do when they get here (in the winter) is go see the birds. The last thing before they leave, they come see the birds. They have their favorites.”

“One lady gets down on her knees with (birds) Bertie and Charlie and they all sing 'Old McDonald.' She just loves on them,” said Heather. “It is the funniest thing.”

The Duytschavers don't worry about what will happen when they retire and the birds still have decades of life remaining. Their children will take over the business. Daughter Jennifer Moore already works at the store, and other children handle purchasing.

But Moore, having grown up to the sound of squawking and screeching, has a “been there, done that” attitude toward the birds.

“I have a dog,” she said. “ 'Stella,' an English mastiff.”

But if they had to sell the store, the Duytschavers said the birds could be quickly adopted.

The birds' names are prominently displayed on their cages, which were bought with store funds.

The signs also have a list of rules for human visitors, starting with keeping fingers out of the cages, as the birds can bite without notice. Macaws beaks can exert 1,200 pounds per square inch of pressure.

Congo even bit Heather Duytschaver on the forearm while posing for a photo, drawing blood.

<p><em>HOLMES BEACH</em> - Season is over on Anna Maria Island.</p><p>Fewer tourists are driving the roads and patronizing the shops and restaurants of this beach town, which might be fine with the locals, but it is duly noted by the merchants.</p><p>They will use their wintertime profits to tide them over during the slower months.</p><p>On the sidewalk in front of Sun and Surf, a resort clothing and gift shop, a special group of Holmes Beach residents certainly has less company.</p><p>They are the African gray parrots, macaws and other exotic birds sheltered and shown by store owners Marty and Heather Duytschaver in 12 cages outside the front door.</p><p>“Piglet,” “Yosemite Sam,” “Emerald,” “Bullwinkle,” “Congo” and friends — 17 birds in all — have become celebrities at the Island Shopping Center.</p><p>“We are 'the store with the birds,' ” said Marty Duytschaver.</p><p>It's a nickname that attracts both shoppers and bird lovers.</p><p>Marty Duytschaver once owned a commercial aviary. After he sold it, he brought two of his own birds to the store rather than leave them home all day.</p><p>“These birds have issues if you leave them alone,” he said. “They start pulling their feathers out.”</p><p>When Duytschaver started dating Heather, they developed a strong common interest — exotic birds. Heather already had dozens of the creatures at her Bradenton home.</p><p>“We joined the West Coast Aviary Society and started to breed birds. We did it because it was something we could do together,” Heather Duytschaver said.</p><p>“Between raising teenagers, running a business and breeding birds, at one time we had 24 baby birds in the back — and you are trying to wait on people.</p><p>“Nobody wanted the teenagers,” she said. “So we had to keep the teenagers and get rid of the aviary.”</p><p>Heather has three children, Marty two.</p><p>About 10 years ago, the Duytschavers started taking in birds whose owners were forced by age or illness to give them up. Or, the owners may have lost their homes to foreclosure and had to move to apartments where the birds were not allowed.</p><p>“Marty tells me I am supposed to say 'no,' ” Heather said. “But when it is our customers, it's hard.”</p><p>Former bird owners like Sun and Surf because the store is a refuge where they can still visit their feathered friends.</p><p>The birds do not seem to mind the new surroundings.</p><p>“Big birds, it is hard for them to deal with change,” said Marty. “But when they come here, it's like going to Disney World. They have the other birds, and they have people talking to them all day long. We have never had a problem.”</p><p>The birds do remember their owners, though, calling them by name months or even years after last seeing them, Marty Duytschaver said.</p><p>Keeping a bird is not easy. They need the company of humans or other birds. A bored bird can develop mental problems.</p><p>Parrots, macaws and other such animals can live 70 or 80 years. That can be an issue for newly retired seniors who think a bird is a good choice for a pet in a small retirement residence.</p><p>“We have people pass away who have had the bird for 20 or 30 years. Some people move down, just retired, and they go buy a parrot that is going to live until it is 80. People don't think ahead,” Duytschaver said.</p><p>The Duytschavers will adopt birds to “the right people,” and will even give away the birds' toys and a couple weeks' supply of food.</p><p>Not that the toys will last long. Macaws can shred them quickly with their mighty beaks.</p><p>But Heather Duytschaver tries to talk people out of adopting.</p><p>“She tells them every bad thing that could happen,” said her husband. “If they keep coming back, you know” they will be good guardians.</p><p>She also qualifies the applicants by asking the right questions.</p><p>“I've bred birds to tell you that you don't want them,” Heather Duytschaver said. “That is not being mean. But people are on vacation — the sun, the Jimmy Buffett songs, the margaritas — and then they see my birds, which are pretty friendly.”</p><p>Some decide to take the “parrothead” label, attached to Buffett's fans, literally.</p><p>“I try to explain to people, the birds can't get attached to anyone, per se, because there is so much activity out here on the sidewalk. They are always interacting with people,” she said. “They are a lot of work, and when I tell people what it takes, I really hope they don't want one. It is a commitment.”</p><p>Each bird has a distinct personality. Some of the birds are relatively quiet, some are gentle, and others will squawk loudly if they sense they are not getting enough attention.</p><p>After his turn in front of a photographer's camera, “Congo,” a colorful macaw, returned to his cage and promptly hung upside down.</p><p>“He is nuts,” Marty Duytschaver said.</p><p>Nearby, Don Ferguson, of Dayton, Ohio, interacted with a military macaw named “Maxwell.”</p><p>“We visit once a year, staying on Longboat,” said Jan Ferguson, Don's wife. “He came up here for a haircut and we heard them.</p><p>“We have wild parakeets outside where we are staying,” she said. “They are the most raucous birds you would ever want to hear.</p><p>“The birds down here are more interesting than the fish. I like to eat the fish, watch the birds.”</p><p>The Duytschavers are certified and licensed to keep and display the birds.</p><p>Their avian display is something like a zoo, but not quite. No admission is charged, for starters.</p><p>They bring the birds inside the store at night, aligning their cages in the center aisle. The process takes 30 minutes each way.</p><p>The shopping center management has no problem with the avian display, the Duytschavers said. It attracts attention, and shoppers with money in their pockets.</p><p>“It is real good for the store,” said Marty, who scoffs at critics who think the Duytschavers are keeping the birds only as a marketing tool. It is too much work and expense to be anything than a labor of love, he said.</p><p>But he added that the business has benefited. “We canceled our entire advertising budget in favor of boarding the birds. It has turned into an attraction,” he said.</p><p>“We have people, the first thing they do when they get here (in the winter) is go see the birds. The last thing before they leave, they come see the birds. They have their favorites.”</p><p>“One lady gets down on her knees with (birds) Bertie and Charlie and they all sing 'Old McDonald.' She just loves on them,” said Heather. “It is the funniest thing.”</p><p>The Duytschavers don't worry about what will happen when they retire and the birds still have decades of life remaining. Their children will take over the business. Daughter Jennifer Moore already works at the store, and other children handle purchasing.</p><p>But Moore, having grown up to the sound of squawking and screeching, has a “been there, done that” attitude toward the birds.</p><p>“I have a dog,” she said. “ 'Stella,' an English mastiff.”</p><p>But if they had to sell the store, the Duytschavers said the birds could be quickly adopted.</p><p>The birds' names are prominently displayed on their cages, which were bought with store funds.</p><p>The signs also have a list of rules for human visitors, starting with keeping fingers out of the cages, as the birds can bite without notice. Macaws beaks can exert 1,200 pounds per square inch of pressure.</p><p>Congo even bit Heather Duytschaver on the forearm while posing for a photo, drawing blood.</p><p>“We tell all our employees, 'Eventually, you will get bitten,' ” Marty Duytschaver said.</p><p>Other rules: Don't feed or harass the birds.</p><p>And no profanity.</p><p>The last rule is very important.</p><p>“You can repeat a word every day for 30 days and a bird might not learn it,”he said. “Other words, they hear them once and pick them right up.”</p><p><empty></p><p><empty></p>